Psychological thriller ‘Silent House’ not as scary as pegged

The psychological thriller “Silent House” follows a young woman, Sarah, as she endures a traumatic horrifying experience inside of her family’s lake house.

Sarah, portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen, is accompanied by her father and her uncle as they prepare to renovate their old vacation home in order to sell it. An unsuspecting knock on the door from a young woman who claimed to be a childhood friendleft Sarah wondering what was going on as she had no recollection of the woman from her past.

What follows after she steps back inside is 90 minutes of hair-raising and sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat pure suspense.

The film is unique in that it is shot as one continuous take throughout the whole movie. It is an effective approach as there are no cut scenes or flash backs and it allows the viewer to be in the moment with Sarah as she runs from room to room.

With strange noises, knocks on the door and bodies hitting the floor, the film has the “what was that factor” that makes “Silent House” a true scary movie.

The acting though was a tale of two halves. Olsen was very true in her role as someone who was legitimately scared of what was going on. On the contrary, the men of the movie lacked believability and looked as though they were just going through lines without emotion.

Though this movie features less than satisfactory acting from most of its cast and an unclear plot, the film establishes itself as a true film of the horror genre, with genuine acting from the film’s most valuable player, Elizabeth Olsen.